The group moved through the streets of the underground city. The stasis cloth blinked faintly in and out as Radahn carried Chak.

  “Tok,” Radahn said, “we might need another crystal... or a couple. to make sure your friend here doesn’t die on us. Go gather some from the townsfolk. Tell them we’ll pay a thousand quill per crystal, no matter the condition.”

  Tok looked up at Radahn while adjusting his grip on Arryn’s robes. “But… we have so many good crystals right here.”

  “We don’t take from friends without permission,” Radahn replied firmly, “and we definitely don’t take from people who can’t even defend themselves. We can take some of his when he wakes up. one should be enough to cover what we spend buying extras.”

  Tok looked down at the ground. “But it’s to help them…”

  Radahn’s expression hardened. “You don’t know what those robes might mean to them. Judging from how our friend looks, they were on the run. Whatever he kept with him must have been extremely valuable. Now do as I say, or I’ll tell Mother to ground you.”

  Tok’s body shook slightly. “Okay,” he whispered. “Please don’t tell Mom.”

  Radahn laughed and gave him a quick pat on the head. “I won’t. Now go do what you were told.”

  Tok nodded, handed Arryn to Tik, and ran off.

  The moment Arryn changed hands, he started crying loud, insistent wails that quickly grew worse.

  “WHAT DID I DO!?” Tik yelped as Arryn’s cries escalated.

  “He probably just isn’t used to you,” Radahn said with a smirk, “or maybe he already knows how annoying you can be.”

  Tik turned and stuck his tongue out at Radahn. “I bet he’d cry even worse with you, big ugly meanie.”

  Tik started wiggling his finger in front of Arryn’s face, trying to play. “He’s just shy. He’d never think I’m annoying, right Arryn?”

  Arryn reached out with his tiny hand and squeezed Tik’s finger with surprising force.

  Tik tried to pull back. The harder he pulled, the tighter Arryn gripped, thinking it was a game.

  “ARRYN LET GO, PLEASE!”

  Radahn burst out laughing as Tik struggled. “Come on, stop being so dramatic.”

  “I’m not being dramatic! I’m pretty sure he’s trying to break my finger!”

  Tik yanked his hand free one last time and shook it vigorously, wincing as the feeling slowly returned.

  “Maybe you should play with him,” he muttered, turning to Radahn.

  “No, I’m okay. Thank you,” Radahn replied, still smiling.

  Tik spun around. “You suck,” he grumbled under his breath.

  “Remember what Mom said about respecting your elders?” Radahn said, giving Tik a gentle love-tap with his fist.

  “I can tell how strong that baby is. I figure the two are related. And let me tell you, he might look skinny, but he weighs probably just as much as I do. I wouldn’t want to find out how strong he really is when he grows up.”

  Tik’s eyes widened. Radahn was legendary for his strength and fighting skill. He had grown up on the streets of Crimson Town. Mother had found him as a baby and raised him as her own. She owned a brothel, and from a young age Radahn had been trained to protect the workers. His countless scars came from countless times groups of men, and sometimes women, recognized him from their visits and tried to assault him or his sisters. Whether they did something stupid or simply said something he didn’t like, he was always there to teach them not to mess with his family.

  But his passion for fighting went even deeper. At fifteen he joined an underground fighting ring. Mother had advised against it. Not out of fear for his safety, but because of the notoriety it would bring.

  “That’s the point, Mother,” he had told her. “No one will fuck with you or my sisters if everyone knows what happens to them if they do.”

  He defeated every opponent they threw at him. Undefeated from age fifteen to twenty-five. He retired at twenty-five. Otherwise he probably would have stayed undefeated until forty. They called him the Red Nightmare.

  The only reason he stopped was because Mother asked him to. She wanted him to take over as head of the brothel. Once he did, he transformed it into something much larger. With the fame his name carried, people trusted his business. He built an emporium within the city walls: guilds that worked under him, casinos, bars, brothels, markets. He started cleaning up the streets closer to the center of town. He helped people afford housing and offered good pay to those who worked for him.

  When a big decision needed to be made in this part of the city, it always ran through Radahn’s ears first.

  Through sheer power and a ridiculous amount of luck, he had taken control of this section of Crimson Town.

  For someone like him to feel even a flicker of fear toward another man wasn’t normal.

  Tik understood then, truly understood just how horrifying the physical capabilities of Arryn really were. Even Radahn was wary.

  Tik’s hands started shaking as he held Arryn. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

  Radahn noticed.

  “You don’t have to feel afraid, Tik,” he said gently. “Just because someone is strong, or different from you, doesn’t mean they’re out to hurt you, or that they’re outright evil. No one is born evil into this world. The world makes us evil.”

  It took seven days before the only doctor who ever ventured down to Crimson Town finally arrived.

  Cage had done everything he could in the meantime with the limited knowledge he had. He wasn’t a trained physician, but he had watched Elizabeth work during her previous visits and taken careful mental notes. He knew enough to perform minor surgery and keep Chak stable for a week or two if necessary. They were betting on one week, not two.

  The door to the Drunken Lion swung open. The familiar jingle of small metal charms clinking together mixed with the clatter of glass and liquid as a young woman stepped inside. Her bag slipped from her shoulder and hit the floor with a thud.

  “Sorry, sorry,” she said quickly.

  “Hi, Elizabeth,” Cage called, already coming around from behind the bar. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

  He picked up her scattered items and offered his arm to help her up.

  “For me? Is it Radahn? Did he get in trouble again? Is it the babies?!” She grabbed his arm tightly as she stood. “Take me to them. I can’t let anything happen to them.”

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Cage smiled gently. “No, Tik and Tok are fine. And when is Radahn *not* getting in trouble? But he’s not the one you need to worry about right now. We have some new friends who are in dire need of help…”

  He nodded toward the stairs. “Come. They’ve been staying with us for a few days now. One of them is… well, it’s better if you see for yourself.”

  Elizabeth stood fully, snatched her bag from Cage’s hand, and asked, “That bad? Why didn’t you send someone to find me sooner?”

  Cage gave her a knowing look. “We did. Perhaps you didn’t get the memo? We sent a runner with quills and a letter.”

  Elizabeth’s face froze for a second, then a sheepish memory surfaced. She remembered a young man approaching her at a poker table in the casino where she’d been for the last few days.

  “Radahn is requesting your assistance, doctor,” the runner had said, handing her a sealed letter and a small bag of quills.

  “Okay, thank you,” she’d replied, slipping the letter into her purse and the quills into her pocket.

  “Ma’am, I think it’s urgent…”

  “Madam Elizabeth, are you still in?” the card dealer had asked.

  She’d glanced at her hand, then at the fresh quills. “Well, of course! Luck is finally on my side today. I’ve got plenty more to go.”

  She had pushed the messenger aside without another word. “Tell Radahn I’ll be there in a couple of days. I’m busy.”

  Now, seeing her open bag with the unopened letter still inside, her cheeks flushed.

  “Hehe… oh, that’s strange. I don’t remember that. Maybe the messenger went to the wrong doctor.”

  A chair scraped loudly behind the bar.

  “NO YOU DIDN’T, YOU STUPID DOCTOR! YOU HAVE A GAMBLING PROBLEM!”

  Cage stared at her for a long second. He, Radahn, and Elizabeth had been friends since childhood. He knew her tendencies all too well.

  “You scumbag,” he muttered, giving her a light smack on the head.

  “He told me about it,” Cage said. “I was just hoping you wouldn’t lie to my face! You never change, do you?”

  He helped her stand properly. “Let’s go.”

  She rubbed the spot he’d hit. “You didn’t have to hit me, meanie.”

  “Did you at least win anything with the money?” he asked as they started up the stairs.

  She reached into her bag and pulled out two smaller pouches heavy with quills. “We hit it big!”

  Cage shook his head. “I hope you know we’re not giving you more money.”

  Elizabeth pouted, cheeks puffing out. “You didn’t have to pay me anyway, idiot. You two are like family.”

  She followed him up the stairs, one careful step at a time. “So who are these people you’re taking care of?”

  “We don’t know much,” Cage answered. “I’ve been looking after the adult. He’s managed a few words here and there. So far we know his name is Chak, and the baby he’s protecting is Arryn. They must be family of some kind. Besides that, we only hear him murmur ‘Mai’ and ‘Arn’ in his sleep. It’s hard for him to talk without crying or screaming from the pain. I’ve tried to manage it with the little painkillers we have, and the stasis cloth when it gets unbearable. It’s been expensive, honestly. But Radahn doesn’t care. He’s already treating the baby like he’s one of his own.”

  Elizabeth glanced around. “So you’re just randomly helping two strangers? That’s a bit risky, isn’t it?”

  “You’re one to talk.”

  “I help because everyone in this city is my family. They aren’t strangers.”

  “Oh, is that so? You should tell that to Mom and see what she thinks about you helping your ‘family.’ She still doesn’t like seeing you here, you know. She thinks you betrayed us.”

  Cage cracked his knuckles as he spoke. “I still haven’t forgiven you either. You left us.”

  Elizabeth’s lips trembled. Her eyes watered. She looked down.

  “I didn’t want this life for myself,” she said quietly. “I asked you to come with me. You made your choice.”

  She pushed past him. “Now please. Let’s change the subject.”

  Cage watched her for a moment. “It’s the next door.”

  They reached the last room in silence. Elizabeth took a deep breath before opening the door.

  A tall man lay on the bed, his feet hanging slightly off the end. A large stasis cloth covered him from neck to toe, but his face was visible. Half of it looked as though it had been torn away. Part of his lower lip was gone. Bandages covered much of the rest.

  She approached slowly.

  “Hi,” she said softly. “I’m a doctor. I’m here to help.”

  She paused. “I need to see your injuries. I have to remove the bandages and examine the rest of your body.”

  Chak slowly opened his remaining eye and looked at her. He nodded painfully, as his breathing quickened.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  She began carefully peeling back the bandages on his face. She held her reaction in check, but inside she was horrified. Half his face was simply gone. Deep holes exposed muscle and bone. The area around his right eye socket was mostly missing. Some parts looked charred, as if burned from the inside out.

  “Okay,” she said to herself, steadying her hands.

  She moved to the rest of his body. The same devastation repeated: burns, cooked flesh, ruined tissue. When she reached his legs, she couldn’t hold back a whisper.

  “Oh my god…”

  His legs were destroyed. Muscle protruded through split skin. Boiling water had left charred sheets of flesh hanging loosely. Blisters and burst bubbles covered the limbs; raw, blackened skin and shredded muscle showed everywhere. Worst of all were the areas that looked like internal explosions had torn through. Uneven craters of blasted tissue, shredded muscle, holes that didn’t match any of the other burns or scalds.

  “What am I looking at?” she thought, stunned.

  She turned to Cage. “I’m going to need a lot of time. This is far worse than I imagined. He’ll need heavy sedation, I’m going to need more equipment than what I brought. I can handle the burns and the upper body with what I have… but the legs and his face… I’m not sure…”

  Elizabeth closed the door behind her.

  She worked almost without pause for two days, only one short break. She couldn’t keep Chak in the stasis cloth during surgery; the old magick device wasn’t designed for prolonged procedures like this.

  Tik and Tok ran back and forth bringing supplies she requested. Every quill she had won at the tables went toward two critical items:

  One was a rare sedative powder strong enough to put even Radahn under. “This stuff would knock me out cold,” he’d said as he handed it over.

  The second was a delicate surgical pen that didn’t truly heal. It accelerated tissue regrowth by connecting remaining healthy fibers. It was only useful where enough viable tissue remained.

  Chak’s eyes slowly opened. For the first time in days, his body felt… at ease. The heavy sedative was surely helping, but Elizabeth’s two days of relentless work had clearly done the real heavy lifting.

  He looked around the small room. Tok was quietly mopping the floor and tidying up.

  “Hey,” Chak rasped.

  Tok spun around, saw him awake, and immediately bolted out the door.

  “What the fuck,” Chak muttered to himself. “That was rude.”

  He tried to shift his body and noticed something strange: his face felt heavier, bulkier than usual. Moving at all was harder than it should have been.

  “Please don’t try to force your body too much,” came a soft, feminine voice.

  Elizabeth stepped into the room.

  “I tried to heal and save as much as I could… but it was nearly impossible.”

  She moved closer. “The good news is that you’re stable. You’ll live.”

  Radahn appeared in the doorway, cradling Arryn.

  “Hey,” he said gently. “Someone’s been waiting a long time to be held by you.”

  Chak jolted upright, or tried to. He gripped the bed railing and slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, using the headboard for support. His body felt oddly light in some ways, strange in others, but the sight of Arryn overrode everything. He reached out.

  “Chak,” Elizabeth said quietly, placing a hand on his arm. “Just… I know you’re excited to see him, but I need to tell you something before you do anything.”

  Chak looked at her, confused.

  “Please lie back and listen to me.”

  He hesitated, then eased himself down. He trusted these people. He didn’t know them, but they knew him and Arryn, and Arryn clearly wasn’t afraid of them.

  “Okay,” he whispered.

  “Your injuries were extremely severe,” Elizabeth began. “I was able to reconstruct part of your facial structure, but some areas were burned so badly that almost none of the original tissue could be salvaged. Your chest and arms actually healed remarkably fast. Your body is… unusual. Within days those were mostly closed. But listen to me, and please stay calm when I say this…”

  The room went quiet.

  “I’m going to take the kid downstairs,” Radahn said. “Let us know when you’re ready to see him, Chak.”

  “But ... ”

  Chak reached toward the door. Elizabeth gently pressed his hand back down.

  “Just listen, please. We’ll bring Arryn back once you’ve heard what I have to say.”

  Chak lowered his hand and nodded. “Just… hurry, please.”

  Elizabeth took a slow breath and carefully pulled back the blanket covering his lower body.

  “I’m sorry, Chak,” she said, voice trembling just slightly. “I had to amputate your legs to save your life. There was almost no viable muscle or skin left to rebuild from. You were losing blood at an alarming rate during the surgery. I couldn’t risk losing you. Arryn couldn’t risk losing you. I hope you can forgive me.”

  Chak stared at the space where his legs used to be.

  The room seemed to stop.

  A rush of adrenaline slammed into his skull like a physical blow. The world tilted, spun. He didn’t speak. Didn’t move. Just stared.

  Elizabeth stood slowly. “We’ll give you some time. Just press that button when you want someone. We’ll all be here for you.”

  She walked out. Radahn followed, closing the door softly behind them.

  The moment the latch clicked, the screams came.

  Raw, broken, frantic cries of a man who had just lost everything. Fists pounded the mattress, the wall, anything within reach. The sounds of grief and rage muffled only slightly by the door.

  Outside, Elizabeth leaned her back against the wood. Tears streamed silently down her face.

  “You did everything you could,” Radahn said quietly, standing beside her.

  “I tried,” she whispered, hands covering her face as she slid slowly to the floor. “I really tried.”

  They listened to the muffled cries for a long moment.

  “Come on,” Radahn said at last, offering her a hand. “You both need time to recover. It’s been a long four months. Drinks on me."